Men, mindsets and birth: results of a prospective longitudinal study

ABSTRACT

Aims/Background

In recent years, there has been an increased interested in the contribution of fathers to childbirth. In the present paper we explore whether the father’s birth-related mindset (being either more natural or more medical) can predict the mother’s labour and birth outcomes and whether the father’s experience and evaluation of the birth can predict his psychological well-being after the birth.

Design/Methods

We conducted a longitudinal study (N = 304 expecting fathers) spanning the first trimester of pregnancy up to six months after birth.

Results

The study results could be integrated into a Single Indicator Model. They indicated that a father’s more natural birth-related mindset predicted low-intervention birth for the mother. A low-intervention birth led to a more positive birth experience for the father, and in turn to better postpartum adjustment, fewer symptoms of postpartum paternal depression eight weeks after birth, and more secure bonding to the infant six months after birth

Conclusion

The study results indicate that fathers do not take a merely passive role in childbirth. On the contrary, analogous to pregnant mothers, fathers’ views about childbirth might contribute to the course of birth, and their own postpartum psychological well-being. The results of the present study, thus, highlight the importance of fathers for childbirth and in a broader sense, the results also contribute to a better understanding of the psychological framework of birth and represents a valuable starting point for further research.

KEYWORDS:

• Birth-related mindset
• birth experience
• fathers
• transition to fatherhood
• postpartum well-being
• longitudinal study

Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG; DFG-Project BA 1603/5-1). We thank our students Julia Gipperich, Annika Lenz, Helena Lügering, and Jana Petrovic for their support in carrying out the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the sensitive nature of the data, participants were asked for consent to make the data public. For 261 participants, we have permission to publish the data. Their data is available at osf: https://osf.io/ygp6u/

Ethical statement

Ethical approval for the study was provided by Ethikkomission am Psychologischen Institut der Universität Bonn (file number #15-08-17). Participants provided full informed consent, the data were collected in accordance with the declaration of Helsinki on research involving human subjects.

Notes

1. Note, symptoms of posttraumatic stress were not assessed for the male sample.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [BA 1603/5-1].